King County, community groups team up to bring new youth ball fields, park to Preston

King County Executive Ron Sims today joined with community and youth sports partners to celebrate an agreement to build a new park and ball fields in Preston.

King County, the Preston Community Club, Eastside Football Club and Issaquah Little League will work together to build two new fields made of synthetic turf and lighted for use for extended play, plus one natural grass field.

The facilities will also include a children's play area and a large grass lawn. The new athletic fields and community park will be built on 14.2 acres of land owned by King County on Southeast 87th Place. Groundbreaking is expected to occur this summer, with completion set for mid-2007.

"Next summer, this fallow land where we now stand will be site of the newest baseball and soccer fields in King County, plus a spectacular new community park," Sims said to a group of Preston community and youth sports supporters.

The project is part of Sims' Preston Gateway Vision, a community-led effort to maintain the rural character of the town, while providing top-notch amenities for area residents.

It is also the latest achievement of King County's Youth Sport Facility Grant (YSFG) Fund program. Through this fund, King County provides matching money to rehabilitate, expand or develop sports fields and facilities that serve youth. King County is providing $100,000 in YSFG funds over the next two years for the Preston project.

Sims said King County is also contributing $800,000 from the King County Community Partnership Grant (CPG) Fund to help move the project forward.

"This grant fund allows community-based organizations to directly participate in the development and maintenance of public park facilities through capital campaigns, pro-bono professional services and volunteer efforts to help maintain the park," Sims said.

The new project is highly anticipated by Preston community boosters and youth sports advocates alike.

"There are no real playgrounds in Preston where our kids can come to play, and the opportunity to build new ball fields and a playground gives us the ability to provide something very special for kids of all ages in our community," said Guy Bennett, president of the Preston Community Club. "We appreciate King County for the matching grants that make this project possible."

Youth sports teams will benefit greatly from the new athletic fields, said Robert Gellatly, Vice President of Baseball for the Issaquah Little League.

"The area's population has grown dramatically over the years, and ball fields are in short supply," he said "With this new field, we'll be able to allow more kids to play organized baseball."

Those comments were echoed by Jeff Pyatt, president of the Eastside Football Club, a soccer organization with 600 kids playing on 39 teams in east King County.

"We have teams practicing far from the Eastside simply because there aren't enough fields close to home," Pyatt said. "Adding new synthetic turf soccer fields will greatly enhance our ability to give more kids the opportunity to compete."

King County's YSFG Program provides matching grant funds from $5,000 to $75,000 to community and youth organizations that partner with a public agency, such as a school district or city parks department, to develop or renovate sports facilities. The program has awarded more than $7 million in grants and contributed to nearly 200 new or renovated athletic facilities since 1993.

The CPG Program is King County's public/private partnership tool that allows community-based organizations to directly construct, maintain or enhance public facilities on King County-owned land.

More information on these and other King County parks programs is available online, at http://www.metrokc.gov/parks/opportunities/.